Name: Make-Ahead Hot Chocolate
Total time: 2 h 9 min
Ingredients: 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips; 1 cup heavy cream; 1/4 teaspoon salt

Why This Recipe Works

Cocoa powder is good for many things, but when it comes to hot chocolate, there’s no substitute for honest-to-goodness chocolate. We went with semisweet chocolate chips as opposed to bar chocolate to eliminate the need to chop it up. Taking some inspiration from ganache frosting, we combined our chocolate with cream to form our hot chocolate base.

Before You Begin

To divide our chocolate base into individual portions, we rolled it into small balls and froze them. Plopping the frozen balls in warm milk resulted in a lukewarm drink. Adding the frozen balls to cold milk and heating the mug in the microwave was a far superior method.

Instructions

Microwave chocolate chips, cream, and salt in large bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Working with 3 tablespoons chilled chocolate mixture at a time, roll into 2-inch-diameter balls. Wrap balls individually in plastic wrap and transfer to zipper-lock bag. (Balls can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)
To make 1 cup of hot chocolate: Place 1 unwrapped chocolate ball and 1 cup milk in mug. Microwave, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Serve.